Your Knowledge and Skills

What you know and learn that informs your view of the world, your industry and business? What skills do you have that helps you be successful in your business? Your knowledge of business, industry and specific aspects of your business and markets is essential for your business success. Similarly, you may need specific skills to succeed in your business. Typical sources of knowledge and skills are colleges, universities, training programs, online MOOCs (massive online open courses), conferences, seminars and such. You can also acquire knowledge and skills on-the-job.

Mathematics is all around us, and it has shaped our understanding of the world in countless ways. The world is increasingly getting explained with these equations. Let's understand them well. In 2013, mathematician and science author Ian Stewart published a book on 17 Equations That Changed The World. We recently came across this convenient table on Dr. Paul Coxon's twitter account by mathematics tutor and blogger Larry Phillips that summarizes the equations. (Our explanation of each is below):

You’re finally ready for a new challenge. You’ve gotten your feet wet and acquired some business experience but you’re getting to the point where your current 9-to-5 isn’t cutting it anymore. You’re ready to make a change and dive into the business world for real. This time, playing for the big leagues. But in order to become an MVP, you’ve got to know what it takes to be business savvy.

many universities had begun to release digital versions of their classes, available to anyone with an internet connection. That’s right, I’m talking about massive open online courses (MOOCs).

I compared the curricula of top MBA programs with the course offerings on a variety of MOOC platforms. Then, I mapped out a course progression that was a near one-for-one match with traditional business grad programs.

Human history is a fragment of biological history. If we are to learn enduring lessons it is best to go back in time. Our view of the world is fairly shallow. We look backward but rarely to a time before we were born let alone the 5,000 years of recorded human history. Organic systems, on the other hand, are about 3.5 billions years in age and offer an even more statistically relevant dataset. So, if we are to look for lessons, the organic systems bucket seems like fertile ground.

FLOW is a state of total absorption in an activity where the individual is so focused that nothing else seems to matter. Time flies by and the activity becomes a joyful, even ecstatic, experience. Flow occurs most commonly when people are pursuing their passions, such as dance, music, arts and competition sports.

the happiest people are those that have discovered their unique strengths (such as persistence and critical thinking) and virtues (such as humanity or justice) and use those strengths and virtues for a purpose that is greater than their own personal goals.

I emailed around 50 peers in diverse industries: payroll, software, advertising, consulting. I asked one question: “What are your biggest business challenges?” Here are the most common responses, and strategies for overcoming them.

Every bit of advice that you read on the internet, including blogs like this one, needs to be taken in context. Much of what you read is written as universal advice, applicable to everyone, applicable in every circumstance, and as though it should be adopted as your general practice no matter what. But none of this is really true. Much of the advice you read, including what you read here, is context specific. Out of context, it can be horribly bad advice.